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There’s this boy at the tea shop.
He must be a new employee, because Jin’s never seen him before in her life. Even though she’s not exactly a regular at Pao’s, her mother just likes the oolong tea and sends her out for it every now and again, she thinks it would be pretty difficult to forget someone like him.
It’s not just because of the scar. He has this…way with the customers, and by that she means a way of irritating them as quickly as possible. He’s blunt, he’s awkward, he’s prickly, he’s standoffish, and Pao has to come up to him several times a day to remind him that the customer is always right and service with a smile. Just a couple weeks ago she spotted him flashing a middle finger at Pao as soon as he turned around, and had to stop herself from choking on her tea.
She doesn’t think he’s mean, though. It never looks like he’s trying to be confrontational, he just has a knack for stepping on other people’s feet and then not apologizing. Jin knows he cares; she’s seen it. She saw when that sleazy merchant was groping the girl next to him at the counter, and tea boy ‘accidentally’ spilled hot tea all over him. She saw when a group of young kids came in with all the change they could muster, not one of them knowing how to read, and he carefully explained every single item on the menu to them. She saw when the old teamaker (Mushi, she thinks) was putting a jar back on a high shelf, when the ladder suddenly wobbled precariously, and tea boy rushed forward with a panicked Uncle! He held the ladder firm, helped Mushi down, and proceeded to rant at him about how stupid that was and he needed to stop being so reckless. She also saw how whenever Mushi needed something from high up, tea boy automatically volunteered himself to get it.
He’s sweet. He’s cute. He’s a mystery, and she desperately wants to know him better. So when her mother sends her out on another tea run, she vows that today, she will at the very least learn his name.
When Jin arrives, it’s rather busy, but it’s not much out of the ordinary these days. Ever since Mushi and tea boy came to Pao’s, business has been booming and she finds herself being sent out for tea much more often. Lively chatter fills the space, smiling faces everywhere, except of course for him, who is scowling at a kettle like it’s personally offended him.
She strolls right up to the counter and can’t help but giggle as he doesn’t glance up at all, instead focusing intently on the steaming kettle. She stands there for another few seconds, before clearing her throat.
He startles, the scowl melting away but the furrow in his brow remaining. “Oh, uh, sorry. I was just…never mind.” He tries for a smile, but it looks less welcoming and more like someone’s holding a knife to his throat. “Welcome to Pao’s. How can I help?”
Jin tries her very best not to laugh, not wanting to hurt his feelings. “I’m putting in a to-go order, with two oolongs, one matcha, and…hm. What would you recommend?”
He averts his eyes. “I don’t know if I’m the best person to ask.”
She tilts her head. “Why not?”
“I don’t like tea.”
“You work in a tea shop.”
“I know.”
This time, Jin can’t hold back the cackle that escapes her, and the red hot blush that is now covering tea boy’s face doesn’t help matters. “Sorry, sorry, I’m not trying to laugh at you, I just…you’re funny, you know that?”
He scowls again, but there isn’t any malice behind it. “Uncle says that too sometimes. I don’t see it, though. I’m not trying to be funny, but people laugh anyway. Whatever jokes they think I’m making, I don’t get them.”
Jin hums and purses her lips in thought. “Well, I think that might be why. It’s always a little funny to watch someone say something they didn’t mean to. I get the feeling that happens to you a lot?”
“Um…” He blushes again. “Maybe.”
“It’s okay. I think it’s cute.”
His face looks like it might explode at any minute, and she worries she’s gone too far, but then something else catches her attention. “Is something burning?”
He blinks. “What?” Then he sees that the kettle is steaming like mad and he swears. “Oh, shit-” He douses the flames and then picks up and moves the kettle with his bare hands. Jin winces, but he doesn’t seem to be affected. He pours some of the tea into a cup, except it doesn’t pour, it just oozes, jet black and bubbling like hot tar.
“What kind of tea is that?” What kind of tea was that is probably a better question.
“Jasmine, I hope,” he grumbles. “Uncle had to pick up a delivery, so he left me in charge of brewing while he’s gone. I told him it was a bad idea…”
Jin considers herself to be a smart girl. Her parents say she’s got a good head on her shoulders, her teachers say she’s a bright young lady, and she herself thinks that she’s not one for rash decisions. But tea boy just looks so defeated, she can’t help what she says next.
“Can I try some?”
His brow furrows even further. “This?”
“Yeah. Can I try some?”
He’s looking at her like she’s just escaped a mental asylum, and she can’t really blame him, but he hands her the cup anyway. “Your funeral.”
“Thanks.” She takes a sip, bracing herself, and…
It’s bad. Really, really bad. She can’t taste the jasmine at all, it all just kind of tastes like charcoal and nightmares. It’s thick, it’s gritty, it’s slimy, it’s probably one of the worst things she’s ever had. Regardless, she somehow plasters on a smile. “It’s not bad.”
She swears his eyes are sparkling. “Really?”
“Really. It’s a little overdone, but you know…it’s not bad.”
He smiles at her, but not the scary one from before, this one’s soft and warm like a blanket left out in the sun. “Well, uh…thanks.” There’s a comfortable pause between them, until he suddenly jolts. “Your order-I forgot all about-uh, right, two oolongs, one matcha, and um…what else?”
Jin startles too. She’d forgotten about her order too. “One jasmine, please. Your kind.”
He nods like he’s not quite comprehending what she’s saying. “Right. My kind. And this order is for-?”
“Jin.”
He writes it down, and he’s about to turn away and disappear into the kitchen, she has to do this now-
“What’s your name?”
Tea boy stands and stares at her for what feels like an eternity, before he finally stutters out, “Li. Uh, my name’s Li.”
It’s not what she expected his name to be. It’s a bit too normal for someone as unusual as him, but she carves out a place for it in her mind anyway. Li. “Nice to meet you, Li.”
He doesn’t meet her eyes, choosing instead to focus on his shoes. “Er-nice to meet you too.”
Jin leaves Pao’s that afternoon with a box of tea, a foul taste in her mouth, and one thought spinning around in her mind- I want to make him smile again.